Chapter 178 - 166: The Current Standings of the Base Factions

Right as Flora Bloom’s group was being surrounded, Seth Warren and Morgan Sterling both received the news in the villa district.

At Seth Warren’s home in the villa district, Kirk Warren was reporting on the situation in the high-rise residential area.

"Brother, I heard someone reported that a member of the new team is infected. Heath Holden has already taken his men and surrounded them! Should we also..."

A flicker of interest lit up Seth Warren’s sullen eyes when he heard the news. He had set his sights on the woman named Shauna Wallace early that morning. Before the apocalypse, he’d been a rich heir. ’As someone from a wealthy family, what kind of woman haven’t I seen?’

But this particular woman exuded an icy aura, yet beneath it lay a natural, alluring charm. He couldn’t help but want to get close to her, to understand her, to have her—to possess her completely.

Now, the perfect opportunity had arrived.

"By the way, have you figured out how to deal with that little white tiger?" Seth Warren’s head throbbed just thinking about it. It was a Thunder Element, and he still hadn’t found a way to counter it. ’The only solution is to find a chance to capture it and tame it as my own pet.’

"Heh, Brother, that little white tiger isn’t with Flora Bloom."

"Oh? It’s not?"

"It’s reportedly disappeared—no one knows where it went! Maybe it decided this master of its wasn’t good enough and ran off on its own!"

"Hahaha, excellent! Without that little white tiger, their team is nothing to fear! Let’s go! We’ll go uphold justice for the people of the base!"

As Seth Warren and Kirk Warren gathered a hundred men and headed for the high-rise residential area, Morgan Sterling, back in the villa district, was feeling extremely conflicted.

Ralph Warren and his small team had been sabotaged behind the scenes by men from Seth Warren and Heath Holden, and they still hadn’t returned.

He had just received news that Flora Bloom’s group was surrounded by Heath Holden and his men. When he first heard it, he thought he had misheard. Even after confirming it repeatedly with the reporting subordinate, he still couldn’t make any sense of it.

’Those four clearly went to the other half of the villa district, behind that door. The floral scent from beyond the door was real, and so was that familiar buzzing sound. I could even faintly hear people talking.’

’They never came out, so how could they be cornered downstairs in the high-rise district?’

"You, go investigate again. I’m talking about the four of them—Flora Bloom, Neal Wallace, Shauna Wallace, and Sherman Lynch. Are they really in the group? The moment you see them, report back to me immediately!"

「In the high-rise district」

Chester Sawyer arrived late, joining Heath Holden’s group. He whispered something in the captain’s ear, and Heath Holden smiled knowingly.

The voice was quiet, but Flora Bloom still heard it.

"Morgan Sterling hasn’t made a move yet."

Flora’s sharp eyes spotted Chester Sawyer. Just last night, he’d been secretly meeting with Morgan Sterling, and now he was right beside Heath Holden. ’I can’t tell if he’s actually Morgan Sterling’s man or if he’s playing a double agent.’

Chester Sawyer met Flora’s gaze and gave her a slightly awkward smile. He had been genuinely shocked to learn she had emerged from behind that door. Seeing the three people who had entered the other half of the villa district with her last night now standing in the crowd, completely unharmed, he began to reassess the situation.

Just then, Seth Warren arrived on the scene with Kirk Warren and his men. The smile on his lips widened as he observed the standoff. He immediately spotted Shauna Wallace in the crowd. As he passed by her group, his eyes were glued to her, his expression so intensely focused that it sent a chill down the spines of those standing near him.

Shauna Wallace, however, merely frowned slightly and paid him no further mind. Her dismissiveness only served to make Seth Warren’s heart pound with excitement.

’Excellent! The colder she is to me, the greater the sense of conquest and accomplishment I’ll feel when I finally have her!’

"Well, what brings the great Captain Warren here?" Heath Holden’s eyes narrowed as he watched the Warren siblings and their men arrive, a bad feeling creeping over him.

’On the surface, we’re partners, but in reality, our relationship is far from harmonious. This Seth Warren is a deep, calculating man; no one can ever guess what he’s thinking. I just hope he’s not here to steal my catch and work against me.’

"Don’t you worry, Captain Holden. I’m here to lend you a hand!" With that, he waved his hand, and his men moved to surround not only Flora Bloom’s group but also Heath Holden’s own superpower users who were standing in front of them.

Seth Warren himself also stepped forward to stand in front of Flora’s group.

"Captain Holden, I’m here to help you, but when this is all over... she belongs to me!"

Seeing Seth Warren point to a beautiful, ice-cold woman in the crowd, Heath Holden snorted with derisive laughter.

"I understand, I understand. Everyone appreciates beauty! Captain Warren, once you’ve helped me capture and quarantine them, you can of course take her back with you for an ’examination’!"

But in reality, Heath Holden had no intention of letting Seth Warren take a single person. ’It’s just that he has more men right now. I recognize some of those superpower users in his ranks... and a quick count tells me he has more of them than I do, too.’

’If I don’t agree, he might just flip on a dime and side with them instead.’

There were three main powers in the base. Morgan Sterling’s faction was slightly stronger than either of their two factions individually. Any two factions that joined forces could overpower the remaining one.

So, while he and Seth Warren had a superficial agreement to cooperate, it was purely for show. When they went out hunting for Crystal Cores, they still fought each other over resources and vied for territory, showing no signs of true partnership.

But now, the arrival of Flora Bloom’s team had completely shattered their three-way balance of power.

On the very day they arrived, they had been firmly pulled into Morgan Sterling’s camp. The two leaders had seen the survey form: nineteen people and two pets. Six of them were superpower users: Cynthia Grant of the Wood Element, Sherman Lynch and Caleb Bloom of the Metal Element, Neal Wallace of the Fire Element, Ethan Monroe of the Earth Element, and Lucia of the Water Element. On top of that, there was Flora Bloom hiding her Water Ability, a little white tiger of the Thunder System, and a fat goose of some unknown type.

If a force like that truly joined with Morgan Sterling, then even if Holden and Warren teamed up, it would be useless. Morgan Sterling’s position in the base would become completely unshakeable.

This was why their two factions had schemed against Ralph Warren. Ralph Warren was a Second Level Fire Ability User, and his squad consisted entirely of first-level Fire Ability Users. Losing such a powerful subordinate was a major blow to Morgan Sterling. Even with Flora Bloom’s group joining him, the balance of power wouldn’t be too hard to manage.

They had to act fast. ’If Morgan Sterling shows up with his men, our strengths will be too evenly matched, and it’ll be hard to get a clear winner. Then all of today’s planning will have been for nothing!’

But they were truly overthinking things.

The verbal agreement Morgan Sterling and Flora Bloom had made that day hadn’t even had a chance to solidify before Flora Bloom recklessly took three others into the other half of the villa district, causing Morgan Sterling to unilaterally declare their pact broken.

To this day, even after receiving news that Flora Bloom’s group had appeared safely within the base, Morgan Sterling was still weighing his options. Because he had already lost Ralph Warren’s team, he was still debating whether he should go to the high-rise district to publicly side with Flora Bloom.

After all, taking a side would mean his faction would now be in open opposition to those of Seth Warren and Heath Holden. From that point on, all pretenses would be dropped.

Everyone had thoroughly considered all the factors: the team members’ Superpower Levels, the number of superpower users, the overall quality of the personnel, and even the superpower level of the team’s leader.

But they had all made one singular, critical miscalculation: the true strength of Flora Bloom and her companions.